Charles hemje



2 shets-shem-L (No Modl.)

HEMJE.A TOBACCO STEM GRUSHING MACHINE.

. No. 254,969. Patented Mar. 14,1882.

WTJV'ESSES l l ugmphaf, wnshingmn. D. C.

(No Model.) g 2 sheets-sheen 2.

G. HEMJE.

TOBACCO STEM GRUSHING MACHINE.

10.254.969 Patented Mm. 14. 1882.

l il.: F,

WITNESSIJS .py Ja Hornby wpnwgnpner. washington. D. C

UNTTE'D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HEMJE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

TOBACCO-STEM-CRUSHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,969, dated March 14, 1852. Application filed October 11,1881. (No model.)

To all whom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES HEMJE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington city, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Stem-Crushing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it xe appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to machines for crushing and preparing the stems of Havana and other tobacco for the manufacture of cigars; and the object is to improve the construction of such machines.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of certain parts of a stemcrushing machine, as will be more fully hereinafter described, and specifically pointed out zo in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure l rep resents a side elevation of my machine. Fig. 2 is an end elevation ot the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of my machine. Fig. et is a longitudinal section on the line 4 .tof Fig. 3. Figs.

5 and 6 are detail views ofthe eccentric movement for the rollers. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a scraper.

In the drawings, A represents a suitable 3o frame, preferably madeas shown, and consisting of au iron top, u., with wooden legs b fastened to it. The iron top is provided on each side with two ribs, c d, formng between them a groove in which the journal-boxes ofthe roll els rest.

The crushing apparatus consists ot' two rollers, B C, arranged side by side in a horizontal, or nearly horizontal, plane, one ot' which is flanged in such a manner that its flanges lap 4o and tit closely to the sides of the other roller. In this manner a receptacle is formed by the two laces of the rollers and the two anges, thus serving as a guide for the stems, and into the depression thus formed the mouth of the funnel D or feed-box extends. It is not sufficient that the stem should only be rolled dat; but it is also necessary that the ber in the stem should be broken, which is accomplished by running the rollers atan unequal speed,

which can be done in three different ways. 5o The first is to have rollers of' different diameter geared together by gear-wheels of equal size, the second is by having rollers of equal diameter geared together by gear-wheels of unequal diameter, and the third is by having both rollers and gear-wheels of unequal diameter. The roller B, with its shaft, rests at each endin ajournal-box,f, which is placed between the ribs c el, and is bolted to the frame. The roller C is secured to a shaft resting in jour- 6o nal-boxes g, which, however, are not bolted stationary to their places, the bolts in these journal-boxes passing through elongated or slotted openings in the frame A, so as to allow the bearings ofthe roller to be moved or regulated by the set-screws h in the end of the bedplate A.

One great difficulty in crushing stems has been the attempt to crush the same in one operation, no matter whether the stems were thin 7o or thick, thereby requiring too much power. Of course the rollers could be set farther apart by the set-screws h in the end of the bed-plate A; but this would require the loosening of the bolts passing through the frame. By running the stems two or three times through the machine and setting the rollers at the first operation a little farther' apart, at the second operation a little closer together, and at the third operation still closer, much hard labor is saved. So To do this the journal-boxes g are arranged with elongated or slotted bearings for the shaft, allowing the shaft and roller a forward-andbackward movement. To adjust the roller to the desired position each end ofthe shaft is provided with a forked lever, E, which is loose on the shaft. Each arm of said lever bears close to the side ot' the journal box, and is bored out at the end for the reception of the shaft, as shown at t' in Fig. 5. The journal-box has on its outer 9o end an upward projection, F, with its inner face eccentric to the roller-shaft, the back ot' the forked lever E bearing against the inner face. By raising the lever E to the position shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 5 the roller 9 is moved slightly back, the lever being held in position by a pin or bolt, 7c, passing through a hole in the lever and projection. By this arrangement a quick'and uniform adjustment is obtained independent of the adjustment of the set-screws.

A feed-box or funnel, D, extends with its lower end nearly down to the rollers and between the ilanges ofthe one roller, and is supported on rods l, passing into thejournal block or frame, the nuts m on the rods being for the purpose of properly regulating the position of the feed-box. The rollers are geared together by gear-wheels G H, and on the end of'one of the roller-shafts is a suitable crank or pulley to operate the machine either by hand or power. Each roller is kept clean by means ofa scraper, I, which can be attached in any suitable position, but is preferably arranged against the lower side of the roller. The Scrapers I are provided with projections a, which are journaledin brackets or lugs o,l extending from and fastened to the frame, and said Scrapers are regulated by set-screws p.

An auxiliary shaft, K, with the smaller gearwheel L, is arranged in any suitable well-known manner, so that it can be easily thrown in and out ot' gear with the gear-wheel H, and operated by the crank M on this shaft K the work will be done more slowly, but more easily; or, if desired, both shafts may be applied with cranks on opposite sides. y

The value of Havanastems as a substitute for the lower grades of Havana tobacco in the manufacture of cigars has long been known; but the difficulty has been in preparing the stems for that purpose. The object of this invention is to produce a machine which is simple in its construction, which does not require too much power, so that it can be easily worked by hand, and byits cheapness is within reach of even the smallest manufacturer.

Having thus described my invention, what..

I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. In. a tobacco-stemcrushing machine, the slotted journal-boxes g, provided with projections F and the eccentric adjustinglevers E, in combination with crushing-rollers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a tobacco-stem-crushing machine, the Combination ofthe plain and anged rollers B C, arranged side by side in a horizontal, or nearly horizontal, plane with the feed-box I), fitting between the flanges of one ot' the rollers, arranged as shown, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereby aftix mysignature in presence ot' two witnesses.

CHARLES HEMJE.

Witnesses:

G. S. DRUaY, W. OBRIEN. 

